Octadecane-Encapsulated, Polyurethane PolyHIPE Composites with Flexibility and Stretchability for Personal Heat Management

Emulsion-templated, phase change material-encapsulated monolithic composites are advantageous for latent heat storage, but their infrared behavior and lack of stretchability hamper many more potential applications. Here, we report the fabrication of octadecane (OD)-encapsulated monolithic composites with flexibility and stretchability and their application for personal heat management for the first time. The composites were formed from interfacial cross-linking between isocyanate and poly(vinyl alcohol), which served as a monomer and an emulsion stabilizer. The composites showed flexibility over or slightly below the ambient temperature, robust compression (without leakage and fracture at 70% compressive strain), and high stretchability with tensile strain up to 30%. The heat storage and release temperatures were similar to that of OD, close to human body temperature, and the composites exhibited quite high heat density (up to 231.6 J g–1) and high reusability (without obvious decreases in heat density after 400 heating–cooling cycles). Moreover, the composites were verified effectively to decrease mean skin temperature and mean torso temperature of the human body, demonstrating to be a good candidate for personal heat management.